Flight Training - January 2012 - 47

ager who also happens to fly the company Pilatus. Next are the turboprops such as the Beechcraft King Air or Piper Cheyenne, with pilot salaries starting in the $30,000 range. Moving up another level are the small jets like the Embraer Phenom or Cessna Citation 500 series. Pay may be somewhere in the $40,000 range at the start. Then, take a quantum leap into the Cessna Citation X, Gulfstream G-IV and G-V, and the Bombardier Global Express—where take-home pay could be in the $70,000 range for a beginner. At the highest end of the pay scale, veteran captains flying the heavy iron can earn well into six figures. Unlike competing for an airline job, where an applicant initially lives and dies by the résumé and

application, personal relationships and who you know really do make a difference. Networking is an essential strategy. Consider this scenario: You are the chief pilot for a large company flying a fleet of Learjets. One of your best captains retires, making a vacancy for one more pilot, the first opening in years. What do you think you would do first to fill that slot? You would ask the pilots on your team. No doubt, one of them can come up with a name. Also, unlike the airlines, good fortune can smile upon someone in strange ways. Take the “ramper” at Denver’s Centennial Airport who was so liked by the chief pilot of a large tire-manufacturing company that he gave that kid a shot at flying a company jet; or the guy who was a regular store employee who worked

the floor for a large retailer and was drafted by the flight department because of rave reviews by the bosses. Then there is the story of a patient who started flying his personal physician around to Nebraska clinics in the doctor’s Baron. Business aviation is a key component in the aviation industry. Anyone who is bent on breaking into the game should read the trade publications, such as Aviation International News, Professional Pilot, and Business/Commercial Aviation, and begin to bone up. Surfing the NBAA website (www.nbaa.org) and attending its annual convention are quite worthwhile.
Wayne Phillips, an airline transport pilot with Boeing 757 and Falcon 20 type ratings, is a B-737 instructor and operates the Airline Training Orientation Program.

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Rod Machado has truly become America’s CFI. Every one of his books reads as though he is your personal ﬂight instructor. And he is. As an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner, I’ve administered more than 1,500 ﬂight tests and I can almost always tell who has read Rod’s books. When an applicant performs perfectly on the oral exam, more often than not I ﬁnd that they’ve used Rod Machado’s training manuals. Thank you, Rod, for producing your many masterpieces in aviation education.
E. Allan Englehardt B777 Captain (Retired) FAA Designated Pilot Examiner FAA - National Flight Instructor of the Year

I’ve taught all my children and my son-in-law to ﬂy. All of them used Rod’s books.

Rod Machado has taught millions the basics of ﬂying through ﬂight lessons, simulation and training materials.

TO ORDER Call 800-437-7080 or Order online: www.RodMachado.com Download eBooks too!

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E. Allan Englehardt

1/20/10 8:53 AM

http://www.nbaa.org http://www.RodMachado.com

Flight Training - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - January 2012